Properties, preparation methods, and application of sour starches in the food

Background: Native starches have various functionalities, including thickening, stabilizing, binding, gelling, coating, and encapsulation, although starches need to be modified to enhance their properties and make them more functional in wider applications. Fermented/sour starches have become more popular due to their functionality and potential applications in recent years. Fermented starches have the potential for modification of functional properties of food ingredients, including starch. Scope and approach: This review summarizes the effects of sour starches on the physicochemical, morphological, and thermal properties of starches.Sour starches were characterized by several instrumental methods, including high-performance size-exclusion chromatography, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffractometer, differential scanning calorimetry, rheometer, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. The current review discusses a critical view of the preparation methods and potential application of sour starches in the food sector.Key findings and conclusion: Sour starches are physically modified by natural fermentation or lactic acid bacteria followed by drying. In addition, compared to native starch, sour starches show improved swelling and solubility, are thermally stable, and are less susceptible to hydrolysis. Moreover, the fermentation process is responsible for increased gelling potential and decreased aging ability of starches, which could benefit starch-based products, including noodles and bread.